


Pool Boys

by minkit



Category: IT (2017), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: M/M, gay struggles, mention of aids, pre-reddie, prompt, really not much to say, takes place in 1990
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 03:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20668310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minkit/pseuds/minkit
Summary: Nope, it didn't matter that Richie actually looked kinda good dripping wet, Eddie did *not* like him, or boys for that matter.-Based on prompt: Would love to see Eddie's moment of gay awakening in any timeline-- even if he squashes it back down and represses it immediately.





	Pool Boys

**Author's Note:**

> Brief, and not sure how good it is, but my first actual work of some sort of Reddie content. Whew, I certainly hope there's more where this came from.

No fucking way. Nope. He wasn’t doing this. He wasn’t going to fucking do this.

Not that there was much that he was doing. Perhaps avoiding would be the correct term. It was times like this that Eddie really wanted his inhaler but he was trying to cut back on that now that he knew it was bullshit. Still, he tended to carry it around for when he got nervous like this, but since he and the other Losers (including Beverly who had come for a visit) were all at the public pool, he really hadn’t seen the need in bringing it.

Well, wasn’t that a fucking mistake?

Honestly? Things had been going just fine. They were messing about, getting in just enough trouble that they wouldn’t get kicked out of the pool, Richie doing illegal jumps into the pool whenever the lifeguard wasn’t looking. The summer of 1990 was going absolutely amazing and it had reached record temperatures this beautiful Wednesday afternoon in late July and they had all agreed that the pool (even though Eddie cringed a little at the idea. All those germs…) was definitely the best place to hang out and things had been going just fine. 

Before Richie had decided to hang all over him.

Like seriously, he just hadn’t fucking wanted to leave his side. It was almost annoying, but Richie was always annoying so that was nothing Eddie wasn’t used to. Anyway, Eddie was probably about as annoying as Richie, at least the others seemed to think so, so he really didn’t have much room to talk.

But here’s the thing. Richie wasn’t quite as awkwardly nerdy looking as he had been last year. 

And for some reason, Eddie was really kind of starting to take notice. 

He gulped down a large breath of air, staring at himself in the mirror and shaking his head. Nope. He didn’t need to think about the way the water flattened Richie’s dark hair against his head or caused his shorts to cling to his legs. Richie was actually surprisingly in good shape. Nothing overly so, not like the jocks at school, just kind of averagely in shape. He definitely seemed like someone on the brink of being sixteen in just over half a year however and… Eddie looked down at himself. Why did he still feel like he was twelve at times?

But, more importantly, why could he not get the image of a wet Richie out of his head?

He squeezed his eyes shut. He really didn’t need this. Did this mean he was… like that? I mean, girls were pretty. He supposed he liked them, but boys were also nice to look at too--especially Richie. Richie was nice to look at, Richie was nice to annoy, Richie was nice to touch, Richie was--holy shit.

Did he really like Richie? Did he like boys? Eddie wanted to pass out onto the bench in the changing room of the pool and let one of the others find his body just laying there. Would that be too cruel after last year? Perhaps, but with how fast his heart was beating in his chest, it was a very real possibility that it might actually happen. 

Actually, he kind of felt a little bit dizzy. This definitely wasn’t normal, but the entire situation wasn’t normal. It was 1990 so liking guys wasn’t exactly unheard of for another guy. Not even by a long-shot, but it also wasn’t unheard of for guys who liked guys to get AIDS and die. 

Eddie shuddered at the mere thought. Yeah, no. He really didn’t want that. 

He couldn’t like guys. And he definitely couldn’t like Richie. Really? Richie? Why would he like him of all people? He was so fucking annoying it was almost ridiculous. However, even just thinking of Richie always somehow made him smile. He really was down a rabbit hole here wasn’t he.

“Hey, Eds, what the fuck is taking so long?” Speak of the devil…

Eddie stiffened up, blinking into the mirror as Richie, dripping from head to toe and trying to wipe the water from his glasses that he had apparently put on in order to see where the hell he was going to no avail stood behind him in the doorway to the changing area. “Uh… just feeling a little sick. My stomach must not be liking breakfast from earlier.”

It wasn’t like it was a straight out lie. Eddie actually was feeling a little bit sick. It just definitely wasn’t from breakfast. 

Eddie tried to keep his eyes on Richie’s face, but it was a little hard when all he wanted to do was look down to check him out. Whew. How to stop this?

“Well, hurry up.” Richie stated impatiently, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his wet chest. “If you can believe it, you’re actually the least boring one out there--but maybe that’s just because you’re the most fun to tease. Sort of like how I teased your mother last night.”

And Eddie remembered the reason as to why he definitely did not fucking like Richard Tozier. The guy was annoying as shit. 

“Oh my god, shut the fuck up.” Eddie grumbled, shaking his head and pushing away from the sink. Richie only grinned however and followed after Eddie as he walked passed and out of the changing area. 

“I seriously can’t believe you didn’t hear her moaning last night, Eddie Bear! Fuck she was going off.” 

“I swear to fucking god if you don’t shut up--” the two bickered as they headed back to the pool and as Richie laughed, running and jumping into the water (with a yell from the lifegaurd), Eddie couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, there was definitely no way he liked Richie.


End file.
